Marine biologists have identified two new species of sea-dwelling, mushroom-shaped creatures that don't belong to any known taxonomic classification. Say hello to a completely new genus: Dendrogramma.»9/04/14 6:40am 9/04/14 6:40am

The Museum of Natural History in Berlin recently allowed its patrons to name one of its henceforth unnamed wasp species. The name the public chose was Ampulex dementor, either out out of Harry Potter fandom or because the wasp really is the Dementor of the animal world. »5/09/14 2:20pm 5/09/14 2:20pm

For over two centuries, Australians have referred to the dingo as their continent's native dog. But as a new study shows, it's not really a dog at all, but rather a species in its own right. »4/01/14 12:26pm 4/01/14 12:26pm

The most comprehensive analysis ever conducted on giant squid DNA has cast some interesting light on these elusive deep sea cephalopods. Despite their global reach, it now appears that there is only one species of giant squid — and they’re all “basically identical.” »3/20/13 8:20am 3/20/13 8:20am

It's time to test your scientific acumen — or your knowledge of a very specific musical subculture. Plenty of microbes have seriously badass names. Lots of metal bands have names that sound like weird microbial diseases. Can you tell the difference between Thergothon and Eperythrozoon? Take our quiz! »12/25/12 12:00pm 12/25/12 12:00pm

When most plants and animals get named after a celebrity (and believe us, this happens often), it's rarely for anything more significant than a poorly-imagined resemblance, or a shared country of origin. Such is not the case with Gaga germanotta and the 18 other species in the newly dubbed "Gaga" genus. »10/25/12 6:40am 10/25/12 6:40am

Over the past decade, you may have noticed more and more articles referring to "hominins" rather than "hominids." Just why are Homo sapiens and her ancestors now called hominins? The answer isn't just semantic — it has to do with a revolution in the way evolutionary biologists perceive humans' place in the tree of… »3/12/12 3:53pm 3/12/12 3:53pm

The latest State of Observed Species report is out. And biologists might have just earned the title of Hardest-Working People in Science, discovering a staggering 19,232 species in just one year, including nearly 10,000 new types of insects. »1/19/12 11:01am 1/19/12 11:01am

Sometimes it's easy to make a mistake when picking a photo of an animal — presenting an image of a rat instead of a mouse, for example. Or mistaking a crane fly for a mosquito. But whoever made this missing cat poster has taken the crown for animal mis-classification. »12/28/11 12:38pm 12/28/11 12:38pm

You're looking at an artistic representation of what is known as a Hillis plot — a visual snapshot of the evolutionary relationships connecting Earth's various life forms. Evolutionary biologists would call this a big, circular phylogenetic tree. »11/10/11 3:18pm 11/10/11 3:18pm

You're looking at three of the last known hirola on Earth. Since the 1970s, unregulated hunting, habitat destruction and drought linked to climate change have driven the number of these large African antelopes living in Kenya and Somalia from over 14,000 to fewer than 400. »11/08/11 11:40am 11/08/11 11:40am

Some of the most commonly encountered spiders on Earth belong to the the family Linyphiidae. Yet much about the family's estimated 4,400 species remains a mystery, due in no small part to the fact that many of these species look almost identical, even under a microscope. »11/01/11 8:30am 11/01/11 8:30am

You've gotta give it up for creative taxonomists — the scientists responsible for naming, and thereby classifying, newly discovered species. Without them, we'd never have species with names like the ant pictured above, who is named after a science fiction institution. (See if you can guess who it is — it's very… »8/24/11 2:20pm 8/24/11 2:20pm

You're out in the wilderness — or maybe just your front yard — and you see a really weird animal. It's like a cross between a bat and a frog. Have you discovered a new species? If so, how would you prove it? »7/01/11 4:34pm 7/01/11 4:34pm